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Prologue

Dr Francis Stein

I ith a jolt frohtmare As always, I’ on ht for the last ten years It’s been that long since it happened, but it seems like it was just yesterday I refer to it as the incident The experiment that went awry October 31st, 2009 was just like any other night until it wasn’t I didn’t just ruin my life I ruined my two best friends’ lives as well I also ruined the lives of a cat who now lives as a dog and a mouse who is now a cat I was in my second year of med school when it happened Max, Aaron, and I shared an old Victorian house on Salem Street We’ve lived in Salearten I commuted the thirty minutes to Boston every day for class, while they did for work After college, they had entered their preferred professions, while I went to Harvard Medical School My focus, at the ti to discover a cure for cancer aswas going great, then this happened It derailed us all for a bit, but things are finally looking up

I orking with the DNA of plants, ani combination Unbeknownst to s happen I thought I had it all under control, but fuck was I wrong It was a pretty basic experiaed all that

We had been drinking since early evening, by ten ere all drunk Max suggested the gaht the ball that I threw, but his hip crashed into my lab table The beaker that was on a low boil spilled, so a fire The rest of the beakers exploded showering us with glass and the now sludge-like contents I watched in a or burning me We sobered up quickly after that Panic set in and it was all I could do to save ed out of control for hours while the fire department tried to put it out

Eventually, it fizzled out on its own The house was destroyed The EMTs checked us out and other than soly fine

Until two days later

Aaron had issues first He was changing into a wolf every fewinto a bear, he learned to control it after the first shift Me, on the other hand, got strong Like a certain Marvel green giant without the green It started out when I lifted a car I just felt as though I could, so I did I flexed my muscles and they expanded It was like an out of body experience I have had to teach s by myself That was the hardest part Prior to the experihed only one hundred sixty-five pounds Now, I’iant and I don’t hate it Before, I was a pimple-faced nerd No wo fucking beast they are afraid of h I scare myself sometimes

Since the incident, I’ve finished ency departether, but Max and Aaron convinced me that this wasn’t my fault I live outside of town, on a hill that I swear is haunted Aaron lives in a cabin in the woods, and Max, well, I’er and that allows hi bear whenever the need arises So, alone I navigate throughto figure out what happened to us that night, not to change it, but to understand exactly what happened ten years ago on a night just like this I hear talk of other shifters, but I’ve not yet seen another It’s the three of us against the world I should want to reverse the experiment, the curse, or whatever you want to call it, but the thing is, I don’t want to anger it or try to change it in any way I don’t know enough about it to try to ain As much as I hate it, I also love it It’s our new normal